Coating machine



Dec. 14, 1948. w, FAEBER 2,456,495

COATING IACHINE Filed Aug. 1, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 QW INVNTOR.

Dec. 14, 1948. w, FAEBER 2,456,495

GOATIIG IACHINB Filed Aug. 1. 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 14, 1948. w, FAEBER 2,456,495

COATING IACHINB Filed Aug. 1. 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 mmvron fihnerlf/fiz-aew Patented Dec. 14, 1948 OOATIN G MACHINE Barry W. Faeber, Larchmont, N.

Y.. assignor to Time, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 1, 1915, Serial No. 808,228

The present invention relates to the art of coating and embodies, more specifically, an improved apparatus by means of which the coating of continuous webs of paper and the like may be accomplished effectively in a continuous operation.

It has long been known to coat continuous webs of paper and like material, either from a roll or rolls of paper suitably mounted at the webfeeding end of the coating mechanism, or from the delivery end or intermediate station in the paper making machine, so that the end product produced by the paper manufacture comprises a coated web. In existing coating machines and methods, difficulty has been experienced in obtaining, at reasonably high web traveling speeds, a resulting coating having a desired uniformity of surface. The art is replete with illustrations of these existing methods and machines and although each, whether it be air, brush, dip, or roller coating generally, possesses certain advantages, each concomitantly therewith, carries with it certain disadvantages.

An object of the present invention, accordingly, is to provide a machine by means of which a coating material may be applied to a continuously rapidly moving web of paper or the like in such fashion as to afford a desired uniformity in the resulting coated surface.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in a machine of the above character, means whereby a coating material can be applied to a continuously rapidly moving web of paper or the like without impairing the character of the web. The foregoing objects are attained by mechanism by means of which a plurality of layers of coating material is applied successively and in relatively close adjacent stations to the web material as it passes through the coating machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved coating machine wherein the coating mechanism may be effectively and conveniently moved from a coating position to a retracted and accessible position so that cleaning and proper maintenance activities may be carried on conveniently.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide, ina coating machine of the above character, an improved drying mechanism by means 6 Claims. (CI. 91-40) of which the freshly coated web may be effectively dried before the coated surface is subjected to forces that might tend to impair such surface.

Other and further objects of-the invention will appear as it is described in greater detail in connection with the accompanying drawings, where- Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, showing a coating mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a view in vertical section, taken on a plane passing longitudinally through the coating machine of Figure 1, and showing the details of the coating mechanism embodied therein:

Figure 3 is a view in end elevation of the mechanism shown in Figures 1 and 2; and

Figure 4 is a partial view, somewhat diagrammatic in nature, similar to Figure 2 and showing a modified form of distributing mechanism.

Referring to the above drawings, the coating machine will be seen to be formed of a base Ill having an end frame member II and side frame members I! and it on each side of the base. Supported on the end and side frame members is a top frame member i4 formed with an elongated element l5 upon which a tunnel I6 is mounted. The tunnel provides a means within which the web IT can be suitably conditioned prior to coating, as, for example, by means of the introduction of moisture-laden air or other atmosphere through a conduit i8 and its discharge through a, suitable connection l9.

In order that the web may be properly guided through the conditioning mechanism and to the coating station, receiving rollers 20 and 2i are provided, over which the web travels in its movement into the conditioning chamber IS in which a roller 22 is provided to insure a proper span of the web in its continued movement to guide rollers 23 and 24. From the guide roller 24 the web travels to a supporting roller 25 upon which the web is coated in the manner now to be described.

Upon the base frame Hi there are provided longitudinally extending ways 26 upon which a carriage 21 is slidably mounted as illustrated in Figure 3. The carriage 21 is provided with side frame members 28 between which a plurality of distributor rollers is mounted, as will be hereinafter described. The motion of the carriage 21 a members on the ways 28 is controlled by means of one or more gear wheels 29 mounted upon the side frame 28 and engaging with stationary racks 3| formed upon the base member Iii. A piston rod 8| received within a suitable hydraulic cylinder 3! is provided with a movable rack 38 which engages the gear wheel 28 and thus, when the piston rod ii is moved in either direction, corresponding motion will be imparted to the carriage 21.

The motion may be controlled by any well known hydraulic control mechanism, the details of which form no part of the present invention, and the carriage may thus be moved into the coating position, as illustrated in Figure 2, or into a retracted position in which the mechanism may be readily inspected. maintained and repaired.

In order that the carriage may be locked effectively in its coating position, the carriage is provided with shoulders 34 and 35 having angularly disposed supporting surfaces 36 and I1, respectively. Adjacent the shoulders 34 and 35, hydraulic cylinders 38 and 89 are respectively mounted. The respective cylinders are provided with pistons carrying slidable latches 4B and 4|, these latches being adapted to engage over the respective shoulders 42 and 43. When the pistons in the cylinders 38 and 39 are moved outwardly and away from the cylinders, the latches 40 and 4| disengage the respective shoulders 42 and 43, and thus the carriage is unlocked and free to move into its retracted position. Movement of the latches in the opposite directions after the carriage has been returned to its coating position causes the carriage to be locked effectively in such position.

In order that the web may be effectively coated in accordance with the improvement of the present invention, a supply of coating material is maintained within a fountain 44. A fountain roller 45 is journaled to rotate in the fountain and receive, on its peripheral surface, a supply of the coating material. A doctor 45 may be provided to control suitably the quantity of coating material picked up by the fountain roller 45, and suitable mechanism may be provided to maintain the fountain roller in the direction of the arrow indicated in Figure 2.

The fountain 44 may be mounted upon pporting frame members 41 which are provided with a platform 48 upon which the attendant may stand to observe the operation of the fountain and cooperating mechanism.

From the fountain roller 45, the coating material is transferred to a distributor roller 49 by means of an oscillator ductor roll Bil carried upon arms i and oscillated by suitable mechanism not illustrated. It thus follows that the ductor roller 50 will intermittently contact with the fountain roller 45 and distributor roller 49 in order to transfer the coating material to the distributor roller 49.

In order to accomplish the more perfect uniformity of coating applied to the web, in accordance with the present invention, the coating material is carried to the web in a plurality of paths. The application of the coating material to the web in a plurality of layers accomplishes a great improvement in the smoothness of the surface of the coated web. It is believed that the principal reason for this improvement lies in the fact that a subsequently applied layer of coating material tends to fill in the valleys formed in a previously applied layer of coating material, thus providing a finished coating having a surface of greater smoothness than surfaces heretofore produced.

In accordance with the foregoing, the distributor roller 48 rotates in contact with rollers 52 and 53. Because roller 52 is the first to engage the distributor roller 48 in the rotation of the latter away from the ductor roll 50, the roller 52 removes a greater quantity of coating material than the roller 53, and thus starts a path of coating material which will apply a greater quantity of the material to the web than the path supplied by the roller 53. Rollers 54 and 5 transfer the coating material from the respective rollers 52 and I3 and apply it to distributing rollers 88 and 51, respectively, which, in turn, transfer the coating to distributing rollers 58 and It.

Cleaning mechanisms, such as wiping blades Mi and GI, remove the coating material from rollers 54 and 5B which is not transferred to the respective rollers 56 and I1, and thus insure the transference of a uniform quantity of material to the rollers 58 and 51.

Boilers 5! and I9 transfer the coating material on the surface thereof to the respective rollers 42 and 63 which run in contact with the respective applicator rollers 64, 65 and 6B, 61, respectively. The applicator rollers run in contact with the "web i1 upon the surface of the drum 2!, and it will thus be seen that four successive layers of coating material are applied to the web. the first two layers applying coating material received from the path supplied by the roller 52, and the second two layers with coating material supplied by the roller 53. Because the first roller in contact with rollers 62 and BI in the direction of rotation thereof remove a greater quantity of coating material than the second roller in contact therewith, applicator roller will apply the thickest layer of coatin material to the web while applicator roller 56 will apply the thinnest layer to the web. Rollers B4 and 01 will thus apply layers of intermediate thicknesses, and the result will be that the web I! will have applied thereto successively a plurality of layers of coating material, thus to accomplish the desired result hereinabove mentioned. It is contemplated that one or more of the applicator rollers 64, 65, '66, and 61 may be driven in such fashion that they rotate at different peripheral speeds than the speed of the web.

The rollers in the distributing mechanism above mentioned are preferably formed hollow in order that they may be supplied with water or a similar fluid to control the temperature of the coating material in its path over the rollers. If desired, certain of the rollers may be reciprocated, the better to distribute the coating material transversely of the web, and the relative speeds of certain of the rollers may be varied, if desired, in order to increase the mixing or distributing action of the coating material along the rollers.

From the supporting roller or drum 2!, the coated web is carried to a drying mechanism, including a drying drum 68 adapted to be supplied with a heating medium at a suitable temperature. A shell 08 is provided around the drum 44, and drying air is introduced into the shell I! by means of a duct Iii which receives air from a fan II. If desired, the air furnished by the fan may be taken from a duct I! at the discharge end of the shell or drying chamber 69 and heated in a suitable furnace 18. A stack H may be provided to discharge moisture-laden air, if it is desired to discharge such air to atmosphere rather than to re-heat it. To accomplish this, suitable valves and other connections may be provided whereby the duct 12 may discharge directly into the stack It.

In accordance with the present invention it is also contemplated that the application oi the successive layers of coating material to the web may take place in such fashion that one or more 0! the applicator rolls may rotate in a direction counter to the direction of motion of the web. For example, with reference to Figure 4, the distributing rollers 58, 58 in the form of the invention shown in Figure 2 have been replaced by a single roller 15. As a result, the rollers 64 and 6B rotate in a. direction opposite to the direction of movement of the web H as it moves over the roller 25. This produces a rubbing and ironing eflect which tends to apply the layers of coating material to the web in a highly effective fashion. The subsequent rollers 66 and 81 which engage the web with purely rolling contact thus apply their layers of coating material to the previously applied layers mm the rollers 64 and 85 to smooth out the coating material and render it highly uniform in its surface characteristics.

It will be apparent that the result above described in connection with the form of the invention shown in Figure 4 can also be accomplished in the structure shown in Figure 2 by providing positive roller driving mechanism for certain of the rollers in either or both of the trains to drive them positively in such direction as to result in a counter-movement of the applicator rollers with respect to the web traveling thereunder on the supporting roller 2!.

While the invention has been described with specific reference to the structure shown in the accompanying drawings, it is not to be limited save as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Coating mechanism comprising means for supporting a web and moving it continuously, a

-first series oi distributing rollers substantially contacting each other in seriatim, a second similar series of distributing rollers spaced from and substantially parallel to the first series of rollers,

a distributor roller common to said first and second series and in simultaneous film transferring relationship with the first roller in each of said series, a source or coating material, means to apply the coating material from said source to said common distributor roller, and separate applicator roller means in contact with the last distributing roller of each series, respectively, said applicator roller means being adapted to successively and in superimposed relationship deposit the coating material onto the moving web.

2. Coating mechanism comprising means for supporting a web and moving it continuously, a first series of distributing rollers substantially contacting each other in seriatim, a second similar series of distributing rollers spaced from and substantially parallel to the first series of rollers, a distributor roller common to said first and second series and in constant film transferring relationship with the first roller in each of said series, a source of coating material, means to apply the coating material from said source to said common distributor roller, and separate applicator roller means in contact with the last distributing roller of each series, respectively, said applicator roller means being adapted to successively and A said common distributor roller,

in superimposed relationship deposit the coating material onto the moving web.

3. Coating mechanism comprising means for supporting a web and moving it continuously, a first series or distributing rollers substantially contacting each other in seriatim, a second similar series or distributing rollers spaced from and substantially parallel to the first series oi rollers, a distributor roller common to said first and second series and in constant film transferring relationship with the first roller in each of said series, a source of coating material, means to apply the coating material from said source to said common distributor roller, an applicator roller in contact with the last distributing roller 0! the first series, and a separate'applicator roller in contact with the last distributing roller oi the second series, said applicator rollers being adapted to successively and in superimposed relationship deposit the coating material onto the moving web.

4. Coating mechanism comprising means for supporting first series of distributing rollers substantially contacting each other in seriatim, a second similar series of distributing rollers spaced from and substantially parallel to the first series of rollers, a distributor roller common to said first and second series and in constant film transferring relationship with the first roller in each of said series, a source of coating material, means to apply the coating material from said source to said common distributor roller, a pair oi applicator rollers in contact with the last distributing roller of the first series, and a separate pair 0! applicator rollers in contact with the last distributing roller of the second series, said applicator rollers being adapted to successively and in superimposed relationship deposit the coating material onto the moving web.

5. Coating mechanism comprising means for supporting a web and moving it continuously, a first series of distributing rollers substantially contacting each other in seriatim, a second similar series of distributing rollers spaced from and substantially parallel to the first series of rollers, a distributor roller common to said first and second series and in constant film transferring relationship with the first roller in each of said series, a source of coating material, means to apply the coating material from said source to a pair oi applicator rollers in contact with the last distributing roller of the first series, a separate pair of applicator rollers in contact with the last distributing roller of the second series, said applicator rollers being adapted to successively and in superimposed relationship deposit the coating material onto the moving web, and means to rotate said applicator rollers in the same direction as the direction or travel of the web.

6. Coating mechanism comprising means for supporting a web and moving it continuously, a first series of distributing rollers substantially contacting each other in seriatim, a second similar series of distributing rollers spaced from and substantially parallel to the first series of rollers, a distributor roller common to said first and second series and in constant film transferring relationship with the first roller in each 01' said series, a source of coating material, means to apply the coating material from said source to said common distributor roller, a pair 01' applicator rollers in contact with the last distributing roller of the first series, a separate pair of applia web and moving it continuously, a

aeeaeee file oi this patent;

7 8 eator toilets in contact with the last distributing roller 0! the second series. said applicator rollers m 95m 'bein: adapted to successively and in superiln- Number um posed relationship deposit the eoatinz material 268,99; Tore Sept. 5, 1m onto the moving web, and means to rotate at 5 808.358 lhrnival Nov. BI. 1m least one of said applicator roilers in a direction 1,988,690 Dec. 11, 1084 counter to the direotion of travel oi the web. 2,032,211 Rb, 25. 1986 HARRY W. IARBER. 2,218,120 Booty et a1. Oct. 15, 1940 REFERENCES CITED o FOREIGN PAM I Number country Date m m 410,000 Great Britain Sept. at, me 

